Coming out of weekend one of Coachella, few sets have been more discussed than Justin Bieber’s. The pop star’s first major public performance in four years seemed to delight as many people as it befuddled, including Bieber’s pop peers.
Some of the most robust praise came from Lizzo, who wrote on Instagram about watching someone who “grew up in front of the world fully transcend into his artistry.” She praised Bieber for giving “us his all, his whole life,” adding, “Justin invited us and whoever chose to come with him was blessed with a beautiful ride. When you use your gift for God, it will make people uncomfortable. But that’s OK because the ones who stick beside you will feel the love.”
Singer-songwriter Labrinth was equally effusive, while dismissing the set’s critics: “Justin… I see what you’re doing and I love it,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories. “Be true! Fuck what anyone else thinks.”
Among those left slightly more confused, but still delighted, by Bieber’s set were and Katy Perry. Larsson posted a TikTok of herself and some friends watching the part of the performance when Bieber put down his guitar and started cuing up viral videos, including his own paparazzi fails.
“It’s giving let’s smoke and watch YouTube,” Larsson captioned her video, while also saying of Bieber, “He’s in my dream blunt rotation.” And when Bieber pulled up the legendary “double rainbow all the way video,” Larsson couldn’t help but laugh and exclaim, “What the fuck?!”
Perry delivered some good on-the-scene commentary about this part of Bieber’s set too in a video she shared on Instagram. In a perfect deadpan, she quipped of Bieber’s YouTube-ing, “Thank God he has Premium. I don’t want to see no ads.”
Bieber’s Coachella marked the poster’s highly anticipated return to the stage since his Justice tour ended in 2022. (Bieber postponed, then canceled the run while dealing with a series of health issues.) Over the next four years, he was largely absent from the stage, outside a handful of private gigs and scattered TV performances. Ahead of Coachella, he took the stage at the Roxy in Los Angeles for an invite-only event for fans.
